ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with a research overview of how word recognition develops. It aims to deconstruct the various foundational skills that are embedded within the word recognition strands of the Reading Rope. In a whole language approach, researchers believed that skilled readers use multiple cues when reading and that instruction should balance the teaching of these cues. The chapter describes key foundational skills needed for word recognition and include the instructional approaches that align to teaching those skills. Phonological awareness is a broad term that refers to the ability to detect and manipulate the units of spoken language. Phonological awareness is an auditory skill. Phonemic awareness is the most advanced phonological skill and an accurate predictor of successful reading acquisition. Research indicates that readers who acquire phonics knowledge more slowly may compensate for weak decoding skills by over-relying on context.
